Welcome to"Mike's Memo," an update on what's
happening in the 48th Legislative District, the State Capitol, and the progress
of my legislative priorities. If you haven't done so already, please take a few
moments to visit my website at
www.senatorfolmer.com to learn more about issues that may affect you and
your family.

Week of December 19, 2016

Tax Amnesty ProgramUnder
Act 84 of 2016, Pennsylvania authorized a tax amnesty period from April 21,
2017 through June 19, 2017. During this 60-day period the
PA
Department of Revenue will waive all penalties and
half of the interest on eligible tax delinquencies for individuals or
businesses who participate in the 2017 Tax
Amnesty Program. The
Department
has provided a
fact sheet for additional
information.

Column: The Electoral CollegeSeveral years ago, Dr. James Broussard, an esteemed Lebanon Valley
College professor, testified at a time when the Senate was considering
legislation to change how our Electoral College votes are determined.

Under that proposal, Pennsylvania would have reverted back to the method used
at the founding of our Constitutional Republic: two electors (matching the
number of our US Senators) would have gone to the statewide winner with the
remainder proportionally determined, based upon congressional districts chosen
by majority vote in each district. That bill didn’t pass.

Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution establishes how
presidential electors are chosen: “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as
the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole
Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the
Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust
or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.”

Presidents Washington, Adams, and Jefferson were all elected using this
method. However, after Jefferson’s election in 1800 (which was determined by the
US House of Representatives after he and his vice president, Aaron Burr, tied in
Electoral College votes), states began changing their Electoral College
processes. Proportional allocation was abandoned in favor of winner-takes-all.

Opponents at the time argued these changes would allow a majority party to
suppress minority voices by giving all Electoral College votes to the candidate
winning a majority of votes. They feared their votes would be meaningless.
Today, only Nebraska and Maine use proportional voting.

Five times in our history, the winner of the Electoral College didn’t win the
popular vote. In 1824, John Quincy Adams not only didn’t win the popular vote,
he also didn’t get a majority in the Electoral College. Like Jefferson, he was
elected by the US House.

Other candidates who lost the popular vote but won the Presidency through the
Electoral College included: Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison
(1888), and George W. Bush (2000). However, Andrew Jackson ran again in 1828 and
defeated President Adams. In 1892, Grover Cleveland, who lost to Harrison in
1884, also ran again and won to become the only non-consecutive two-term
President.

The most recent election is the fifth time a candidate won the Electoral
College but lost the popular vote, resulting in renewed calls to change and/or
eliminate the Electoral College.

One plan is the “National Popular Vote,” where individual states enter into a
compact to award all their respective electoral votes to whichever candidate
wins the nationwide popular vote. According to National Popular Vote, 11 states
have enacted laws to establish compacts.

Whether you support or oppose national popular vote, I believe such a change
should be made by amending the US Constitution. The compact clause of the
Constitution states: "no state shall, without the consent of Congress enter into
any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power." Various
courts have ruled whenever federal supremacy is threatened, Congressional
consent is required for a valid compact.

Failure to properly amend the Constitution will cause problems. It would
likely be challenged and ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.

More importantly, for far too long the federal government has failed to
follow the Constitution – especially the 10th Amendment: “The powers
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

If you want to change the rules of the game, do it properly – and don’t do it
after the fact.

Contact InformationPlease feel free to contact me at any time on state-related issues that are
of concern to you. I may be reached through my
website or my Lebanon or Harrisburg offices.

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